A borrowed thought... about women

Reese Witherspoon said something that made so much sense the other day (when The Oprah Show aired about the movie, Walk the Line).

She talked about how far women have come from the so called "dark ages" and in much of the world today (but pointedly, still not all!) women are give "equal" rights such as the right to vote, equal pay, etc.

Our sisters in many parts of the world still struggle with discrimination and oppression, cultural "disadvantages" and the like. They are caught in polygamous marriages, payment of exorbitant, continuous dowry by their spouse and family and much worse. Thus, the struggle is ongoing but in the more developed nations, women lead pretty "equal" lives with their counterparts and are an icon, a glimmer of hope to the rest.

Sorry, but I got sidetracked there... Back to my point... Reese Witherspoon (yes, she also acted in Legally Blonde, ironically) remarked that there are women today who have a great influence over their younger counterparts, ranging from teenyboppers, tweens, SYTs (sweet, young things) I call them, and as inevitable role models to the young, have chosen the image of "bimbos" or "dumb blondes" or "sex kittens" simply put, for fame and fortune.

Make no mistake, these women, celebrities in their own right are beautiful, smart and "street" savvy people but they have made the conscious decision to use their good looks, a large helping of sex appeal and the image of a dumb, shallow minded person to become rich and famous. And they seem proud of this. To me, it has caused a downward spiral in the "quality" of entertainment of today.

Reese added that she feared for her young daughter who have these "women of today" as role models and that it mocks and belittles women. The many generations of women before us, worked so hard to get us to where we are today. These are women who gave their lives, our mothers, our grandmothers who stood up for their right only to be "sold for a song", "cheapened" by their own kind.

What message are we sending our daughters then? Women are only meant to look good, be idolised as sex objects and do not need to use their brains... that brains are not important? All the lives of women who fought so hard to be heard and taken seriously, lost for this?

I want to challenge us to re-think what we should do with this "not-so-new" insight... if you haven't already thought about it. Let's build our own value system on "solid ground" and embrace our rich heritage that was bought with much blood, sweat and tears.